Time for a Change:

Introducing 6th Edition of APA

Style
Graceland University
Thelma Sword, EdD., MSN, RN
 Purpose of Presentation

• To introduce new
edition of APA

• To clarify some of
the basics of APA HELP: APA Ali
en
Found

• To try to eliminate
some of the APA
frustrations
 Presentation Overview
• Text pages
• Introduction of major Headings
changes (5th edition Citations
versus 6th edition)
References
• Setting up the paper
• Order of paper
• Common Mistakes
Title page
Abstract
Body of paper
References
Appendix
 Ah, Take a Deep Breath Here

• Just when we thought • New guidelines for

we understood APA electronic references
• Use of DOI numbers
• New 2010 edition out
now
• New and improved
headings
• Other changes: see
What’s New & tutorial
Web site
www.apastyle.org
 5th Edition Versus 6th Edition

• 5th Edition • 6th Edition

– Frequently used headings – Heading now in order 1-5;
1, 3, and 4 Use 1, 2, and 3 most
– No bolded font in headings frequently
– One space after – Bolded font in headings
punctuation at end of – Two spaces after
sentence punctuation at end of
– Header used sentence
– No bullets – Running head used on title
page; but words Running
head only appear on title
page; header words
appear on all pages
– May use bullets
 More New Items 6th Edition
• Detailed guidelines about decreasing bias (APA
2010, pp. 70-77)
• Suggested use of personal pronoun instead of
third person (APA, 2010, p. 69)
• Excellent sample papers (APA, 2010, pp. 41-59)
• Excellent Reference Examples (APA, 2010, pp.
193+)
• Keywords now added to end of Abstract (APA,
2010, p. 41)
• In References, with multiple authors seven or
more, list first six then, …and list last author
(APA, 2010, pp. 198-199)
 Setting Up the Paper
• Font (APA, 2010, p. 228)
– Courier or Times New Roman, 12 point

• Margins (APA, 2010, p. 229)

– 1.0 inch all around- ragged right margin
– Left margin can be l.5 inches if instructor
has requested the paper to be bound

• Double spaced (APA, 2010, p.229)

– Everything is double-space
– Including quotes and reference page
 Title Page

• Page numbers start with title page

– Use header/footer feature of Word at top right
margin (APA, 2010, p.230 )

• Running head (APA, 2010, p. 229 & corrected

sample paper )
– Includes 2 or 3 words from title
– Placed flush with left margin
– Words Running head appear only on the title page
– Header-words from running head are placed on
each page
 Text Pages

• Title of paper is centered on first page of

text (APA, 2010, p. 42; sample paper )

• All paragraphs are indented 5-7 spaces

• Everything is double spaced

• Must have at least two lines of a text at

the bottom of the page or move heading
to top of next page
 Headings

• Levels of heading provide order to your

papers
– Much like an outline of your thoughts by
topic areas
– All topics of equal importance have the
same level of heading (APA, 2010, pp. 62-63 )
– Use at least two subsection headings
within any given section
 Heading Examples
• 1st Level:
Centered, Boldface,
Upper and Lowercase Letters

• 2nd Level:
Flush Left, Boldface, Upper and Lowercase
Letters

• 3rd Level:
Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph
heading ending with period.
 More on Headings

• 4th Level:
Indented, boldface, italicized,
lowercase paragraph heading ending
with a period.

• 5th Level:
Indented, italicized, lowercase heading
ending with a period.
 Common Heading Use

• Most papers use only two or three levels

– Two level papers
• Use first and second level of headings
– Three level papers
• Use first, second, and third levels of
headings (APA, 2010, pp. 62-63)
 Regarding Quotes

• See Basic Citation Styles Table 6-1(APA,

2010, p. 177)

• Short quotes (APA, 2010, pp.170-171) with

fewer than 40 words are incorporated into
text and enclosed by quotation marks.

• Example: “Students have problems with

APA format” (Sword, 2005, p. 276).
 Quote at the End of the Sentence
• End quote with the punctuation outside the
final parenthesis (APA, 2010, p. 171)

• Example:
Sword (2005) found “student anxiety about
APA format disappeared” (p. 276).
 Block Quotes

• Block quote is quotation of 40 or more

words
• Indent quote
• Cite the quoted source after the final
punctuation mark, do not use quotation
marks
(APA, 2010, p. 171 )
Example on next slide:
As Sword (2005) discussed
APA is much easier than one may think
and students can learn it quickly when
provided adequate introduction and
practice using the format. Learning APA
is a process and students need
encouragement to practice its use in all
written work. This assists students in
remembering formatting details. (p. 176)
Paraphrased Material – Not a Direct Quote

• Tell reader two items : author’s last name

(or title of article if no author) and year of
publication

• Example: There are many times when

material is paraphrased (Sword, 2005).
 Citing Multiple Authors

• With 2 authors: cite both names every time

used in the text
• With 3, 4, or 5 authors: cite all authors first
time used, then last name of first author
and et al. thereafter
• With 6 authors or more: cite only last
name of first author followed by et al. (APA,
2010, p. 175 )
 Citations

• Page number (p.) versus paragraph

number (para.) (APA, 2010, pp. 171-172)
• Use paragraph number when electronic
document does not have page numbers
listed.
• Example:
• “Knowledge of APA improves the
scholarliness of student papers” (Sword,
2005, APA section, para. 4).
 Personal Communication
• Personal communications could include
– E-mails, interviews, phone
conversations, etc. (APA, 2010, p. 179)
– Example of interview with nursing
instructor
• Citation would be
(T. Sword, personal communication,
May 16, 2005)
– Cited in text, not listed on reference
page
 References: Crediting Sources

• Reference page follows text and

references must be discussed in text
(APA, 2010 p. 174)
• Double space and 1st line is flush left
with remaining lines of reference
indented 5 spaces (hanging indent)
• References are alphabetized (APA, 2010, p.
174 & p. 181 )
• Reference examples (APA, 2010, p. 193)
 References
Singer, P., Martin, D., & Kelner, I. (1999). Quality
of end-of-life care: Patient’s perspectives.
Hospice & Palliative Care, 28(9), 163-168.
doi: 10-prefix-suffix
Tchulman-Green, D., McCorkle, R., Johnson-
Hurzeler, R., & Bradley, E. (2005). Nurses’
communication of prognosis and implications
for hospice referral: A study of nurses caring
for terminally ill hospitalized patients. American
Journal of Critical Care, 14(1), 64-70.
doi:10-XXXXXXX
 Using an Appendix

• Type the word Appendix in upper and

lower case with the identifying capital
letters (A, B,) at the top of the page (APA,
2010, p. 39)
• Appendix contains detailed information
that would be distracting to read in the text
– For example: a list of nurse interview
questions
– Appendix content must be discussed in text
(see Appendix B)
 Now About Crediting Sources

• Think of three categories for most

articles/documents:
– Documents likely to change
– Documents in final copy with digital object
identifiers (DOI) listed
– Documents in final copy without digital object
identifiers (DOI) listed
 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

DOI is a unique alpha-numeric identifier

assigned by a registration agency to
identify content and provide a consistent
link to content location on the Internet (APA,
2010, p. 188)
• DOI numbers start with a 10 and contain a
prefix and a suffix separated by a slash.
 Finding the DOI

• Printed prominently on the first page of an

article
• “May be hidden under a button labeled
Article , Cross-referenced, PubMed or
another full-text vendor name (APA, 2010, p.
189)
• Copy and paste DOI to end of your
reference listing ensure accuracy (APA,
2010, p. 191)
Electronic Journal Article with DOI

Borman, W. C. (2003). Role of early

supervisory experience in supervisor
performance. Journal of Applied
Psychology, 78(1), 443-449.
doi:10.1096/01.0000298309.98326.a7

Note: No retrieval statement or date are

needed (APA, 2010, p. 191). Just use the DOI
number as this information is not likely to
change
 Electronic Document with No DOI

• Sword, T., & Little, R. (2007). Faculty

needs in online education. Nurse
Educator, 23(3), 39-43. Retrieved from
http://www.nurseeducator/article/view.168

Note: There is no DOI assigned so give

exact URL and no retrieval date is needed
because this is the final version of the
article.
Electronic Quotes: Change Likely
• Documents retrieved from the Internet should
include author, document title or , Internet
source, date of document, Retrieval statement,
date retrieved, and (URL or uniform resource
locator)-the Web address…
when information being cited is
likely to change (APA, 2010, p. 192).

• Electronic Example:
Smith, I. (2004). How to write following
APA guidelines. Retrieved May 12, 2005, from
www.apatoday.com/howtowrite.html
 Uniform Resource Locator
(URL)
• This is also called the Web site address
http://www.dhss.mo.gov/HomeCare/index.html
• Http: is the protocol
• www.dhss.mo.gov is the host name
• HomeCare is the path to a document
• Index.html is the file name of specific
document
Electronic Reference: Document on Web Site

Missouri Department of Health and Senior

Services. (n.d.). Home care. Retrieved March
16, 2008, from
http://www.dhss.mo.gov/HomeCare/index.html
 Electronic Reference: Book

• Sword, T. (2008). Nursing & quantum

theory. Retrieved from http://
bantum.org/nursing/quantum0098

• If DOI is assigned to the book, use the

DOI
(APA, 2010, pp. 202-203 )
 Little More General APA Detail

• Use ampersand (&) to join multiple authors

in the citation and the reference page
• Use and to join authors in the text
• Avoid use of gender (he, she)
• The introduction to your paper does not
have to be labeled introduction (APA, 2010, p.
63)
 More Details
• Paragraphs should be 3-5 sentences
minimum
• Write out acronyms and abbreviations first
time used (exceptions, APA, 2010, p. 107)
• Use two spaces after punctuation at end of
sentence
• Use one space after comma, colon, etc. in
the sentence (APA 2010, pp. 87-88)
 Bullets are Back!!

• Seration: lists in a series

• Paragraphs in a series
– Use numbers
• 1. Healthcare is…[paragraph continues]
• 2. Costs…..[paragraph continues]
• Within a paragraph or sentence
– Use letters
– Choices include (a) higher costs, (b) less ….
• Or bulleted lists may be used within a
sentence (APA 2010, pp. 63-64 )
 Order of Pages/APA
• Title page with page numbers, running
head, title, student name, and school name
• Abstract (if required by assignment grading
criteria) is page two of paper
• Text pages(repeat title on first page of text)
• Reference page/pages
• Appendix on separate page after figures
and tables (APA, 2010, p. 230)
 Common APA Mistakes

• Forgetting to
– Double space EVERYTHING
– Have ragged right margin
– Cite quoted data (need author’s last
name, year of publication and p. or para.
number)
– Place references flush left for first line
and do not use author’s first name, only
initials.
– Have references use hanging indent
 Little Humor

Welcome to a new learning curve for all

of us….hopefully we will not be looking
like this poor fellow 
 References

American Psychological Association. (2010).

Publication manual of the
American psychological association (6th
ed.). Washington, DC: Author.